Anas Acuta

The Original Valley Sea Kayak

The Original Valley Sea Kayak

anas acuta

Summary – The closest experience you can possibly get, in a composite kayak, to paddling a genuine skin on frame Greenland kayak. The Anas Acuta is based on measurements taken from a historic Greenland kayak. Its low decks, hard chines and pronounced rocker, make this kayak extremely responsive to paddler inputs and a real joy to paddle.

Background – Valley’s long history of sea kayak production, started with this kayak. The story started with a traditional hunting kayak, brought back from Igdlorrsuit, Greenland by Ken Taylor in 1959. Other kayakers were so impressed by this craft, that several plywood copies were made. Duncan Winning made a particularly accurate set of line drawings especially for those that wanted to produce their own replicas.

Among the people who received these early plans was Geoff Blackford. Geoff, increased the dimensions slightly to better accommodate the average paddler’s physique, made his kayak and named it the Anas Acuta. The “Anas” proved to be an excellent craft, not surprising considering its development over thousands of years. In 1972 because of the amount of interest in his kayak, Valley were approached to make it commercially available in fibreglass. This made Valley, one of the first manufacturers of a commercially available specialist sea kayak anywhere in the world!

Design – This kayak’s design has truly been developed over thousands of years. It’s characteristics being honed to meet the needs of the hunters of Western Greenland. Fortunately, their needs; maneuverability, low windage, responsiveness to paddle strokes and ease of rolling, are equally valuable to those who paddle today and make this an exceptionally fun kayak to paddle.

Conclusion - The Anas Acuta should appeal to paddlers looking for that classic Greenland feel in their kayak, whether that’s because they enjoy the crisp carving of the hard chined hull, the low deck, freedom of movement required for Greenland rolling practice or because just want the satisfaction of paddling a design developed over several thousands of years.